1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for recording an image by discharging ink from a recording means onto a recording medium.
2. Related Background Art
In recording apparatuses having printer, copier and/or facsimile functions or in recording apparatuses used as an output device for a work station or a composite equipment including a computer, a word processor and the like, an image is recorded on a recording medium such as a sheet or a thin plastic film (for example, an OHP sheet) in response to image information. The recording apparatuses are divided into an ink jet recording apparatus, a wire dot recording apparatus, a heat-sensitive recording apparatus, a heat transfer recording apparatus and a laser beam recording apparatus, in accordance with a recording fashion of a recording means.
Among these recording apparatuses, the ink jet recording apparatus is designed so that the recording is effected by discharging ink from a recording means (recording head) onto a recording medium and has advantages that the recording means can easily be made compact, that a finer image can be recorded at a high speed, that the image can be recorded on a plain sheet without any specific treatment, that a running cost is inexpensive, that noise can be extremely reduced because of non-impact recording, and that a color image can easily be formed by using different color inks. Among the ink jet recording apparatus, a recording apparatus of line type having a line type recording head in which a plurality of ink discharge openings are disposed along a width-wise direction of the recording medium permits further high speed recording.
Particularly, in an ink jet recording means (recording head) for discharging the ink by utilizing energy, since the high density liquid passage arrangement (ink discharge opening arrangement) can easily be achieved by forming electro-thermal converter disposed on a substrate, electrodes, liquid passage walls and a top plate by semi-conductor manufacturing process such as etching, deposition, spattering and the like, further compactness of the recording means can be expected.
Now, a main construction of the above-mentioned ink jet recording apparatus will be explained with reference to FIG. 10. A recording medium (not shown) is pinched between a convey roller (convey means) 105 and a feed roller 106 and is conveyed by these rollers. When the recording medium reaches a recording position, in response to a signal emitted from a head cartridge (recording means) 101 situated at the recording position, ink is discharged from the head cartridge, thereby effecting the recording. Then, the recording medium is further conveyed by a pair of feed rollers 110, 111 and then is discharged out of the apparatus by a pair of discharge rollers 112, 113 disposed at a downstream side of the pair of feed rollers 110, 111 in a recording medium conveying direction.
In the above-mentioned conventional ink jet recording apparatus, the pair of feed rollers comprise a feed roller (first discharge means) 110 and spurs (first auxiliary discharge means) 111 urged against the feed roller 110, and the pair of discharge rollers comprise a sheet discharge roller (second discharge means) 112 and spurs (second auxiliary discharge means) 113 urged against the sheet discharge roller 112, and the spurs 111, 113 are disposed on a cover 115 which can be opened and closed with respect to a body of the apparatus. Each spur is a wheel provided at its periphery with a plurality projections each having a sharp tip end so that the recording medium can be discharged (or conveyed) by one or more projections (with very small contact area).
In the above-mentioned apparatus, when the head cartridge 101 is exchanged to a new one due to consumption of ink, the cover 115 is opened by pivoting the cover in an anti-clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 11, thereby permitting the exchange of the head cartridge 101. If the cover 115 is opened by pivoting the cover in a clockwise direction in FIG. 11, the spurs 111 with interfere with the head cartridge 101. Further, in the above-mentioned apparatus, a panel set substrate 120 on which an LCD 121 is disposed is secured at a left portion (FIG. 11) of the apparatus. Accordingly, an operator is in a left side of the recording apparatus.
In the above-mentioned relation, when the cover 115 is opened as shown in FIG. 11, the head cartridge must be exchanged across the opened cover 115. Further, when the panel operation is effected in order to shift the head cartridge 101 to an appropriate position to facilitate the exchange of the head cartridge, since the head cartridge 101 is concealed by the cover 115, the operation is hard to be effected.
Further, when the head cartridge 101 is exchanged after the cover 115 is dismounted from the apparatus, if the spurs 111, 113 are subjected to an external force, the water repelling ability of the spurs 111, 113 will be reduced, with the result that the ink adhered to the spurs is re-transferred to the recording medium, thereby deteriorating the recording quality.
In the above-mentioned conventional technique, if the cover 115 is opened while the recording is being effected, since the urging force of the spurs 111 acting on the platen is released, the recording medium will be stopped at a downstream side of the convey roller 105.